Adobe Illustrator Quick Reference Guide

CMD vs. CTRL

On Macs, use CMD in place of CTRL for commands (e.g., CMD + N to create a new document).

Shift for Alternate Tool Options

Pressing Shift + [Shortcut Key] cycles through related tool options.

Option/Alt Key for Enhanced Selection and Precision

Many selection tools and painting tools use ALT (Windows) or Option (Mac) to modify selections or sample areas.

Right-Click for Context Menus

Right-clicking on tools or selections often brings up context-specific menus.

Using Modifier Keys for Quick Adjustments

Hold down Shift for precision movements, ALT to duplicate items, or Space to temporarily activate the Hand tool for panning.

Customizing Shortcuts

Photoshop and Illustrator allow users to customize shortcuts under Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

V - Selection Tool
Moves and selects objects, paths, or anchor points.

A - Direct Selection Tool
Selects and manipulates individual anchor points and path segments.

Y - Magic Wand Tool
Selects areas of similar color or brightness in an image.

Q - Lasso Tool
Freehand selection tool for irregular shapes.

CTRL + A - Select All
Selects all objects within the workspace.

CTRL + D - Deselect
Deselects any active selection.

CTRL + Shift + I - Invert Selection
Inverts the current selection.

CTRL + R - Ruler Tool
Displays rulers for precise alignment of objects.

CTRL + ; - Show / Hide Guides

Shows or hides the guides in the workspace.

P - Pen Tool
Creates precise paths and vector shapes.

B - Paintbrush Tool
Draws freehand strokes with customizable brushes.

M - RectangleTool
Draws rectangles and squares. Hold Shift to create perfect squares.

L - Ellipse Tool
Creates circles and ellipses. Hold Shit for perfect circles.

N - Pencil Tool
Draws freeform paths, similar to drawing with a pencil.

I - Eyedropper Tool
Samples colors from the canvas.

S - Scale Tool
Scales selected objects uniformly.

E - Free Transform Tool
Resizes, rotates, and skews selected objects.

SHIFT + S - Symbol Sprayer Tool
Adds symbols to the canvas in a spraying manner.

G - Gradient Tool
Applies gradients to objects.

W - Blend Tool
Creates smooth transitions between objects.

K - Live Paint Bucket Tool
Fills areas in a Live Paint group with colors.

SHIFT + L - Live Paint Selection Tool
Selects areas within a Live Paint group for color editing.

C - Scissors Tool

Cuts paths or objects at anchor points.

T - Type Tool
Adds text to your artwork.

CTRL + T - Free Transform
Resizes and rotates objects freely.

CTRL + G - Group
Groups selected objects together.

SHIFT + CTRL + G - Ungroup
Ungroups previously grouped objects.

M - Rectangle Tool
Draws rectangles and squares.

\ - Line Tool
Draws straight lines.

R - Rotate Tool
Rotates selected objects around a point.

SHIFT + R - Warp Tool
Distorts paths or shapes in customizable ways.

J - Column Graph Tool
Creates graphs from data inputs.

U - Mesh Tool
Adds mesh points to shapes for more precise color control.

CTRL + + / - - Zoom In / Zoom Out
Zooms in or out on the canvas.

CTRL + 0 - Fit to Screen
Fits the image to the workspace.

CTRL + 1 - Actual Size

Displays the image at 100% zoom (actual size).

CTRL + N - New
Creates a new document.

CTRL + O - Open
Opens an existing file.

CTRL + S - Save
Saves the current document.

Shift + CTRL + S - Save As
Saves the current document under a new name or location.

CTRL + ALT + I - Image Size
Adjusts the overall dimensions of the image.

CTRL + ALT + C - Canvas Size
Changes the canvas size without affecting image content.

CTRL + W - Close Document

Closes the current document.

CTRL + E - Merge Down
Merges a selected layer with the one directly below it.

SHIFT + CTRL + E - Merge Visible Layers
Merges all visible layers into one.

CTRL + J - Duplicate Layer
Creates a duplicate of the selected layer.

CTRL + G - Group Layers
Groups selected layers into a folder.

CTRL + Shift + G - Ungroup Layers

Ungroups selected layers.

CTRL + ALT + Z - Step Backward
Steps back in history to undo multiple actions.

CTRL + SHIFT + Z - Step Forward
Steps forward in history to redo actions.

F12 - Revert

Reverts the document to its last saved state.

F1 - Adobe Help
Opens Adobe’s online help documentation.

F5 - Brush Toolbar
Opens the Brush panel to modify brush settings.

F6 - Color Toolbar
Opens the Color panel for choosing and adjusting colors.

F7 - Layers Toolbar
Opens the Layers panel to manage layer structure.

F8 - Info + Properties Toolbar
Opens the Info panel and the Properties panel.

F9 - Actions Toolbar

Opens the Actions panel for automating tasks.